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The head of the China office at Newedge, Europe’s largest futures broker, is set to depart the firm and will be replaced by a former intelligence officer in the US Department of Defense, Financial News has learned.

Dean Owen, who had been in his position for four years, will depart his role at the broker in a matter of weeks to pursue other interests, an external spokesman for Newedge confirmed. Owen did not respond to a LinkedIn request seeking comment.

Owen’s position will be taken by Daniel McGowan, according to the spokesman. McGowan will join Newedge from US firm Sino Ventures, where he was a managing member offering consulting services to international companies seeking market entry in China.

Prior to working at Sino Ventures, he served as an intelligence officer and senior Chinese linguist at the US Department of Defense. McGowan will be based in Shanghai, and report to Laurent Cunin, Newedge’s chief executive for Asia-Pacific.

Cunin said in an emailed statement: “Newedge is in a prime position to provide international investors with access to the well sought-after Chinese futures markets.

“We are strongly committed to further grow our presence in mainland China. Daniel's profound insight into the Chinese financial markets, his strong relationships within the public sector and proven ability to bridge cultures will help take our China business to the next level.”

McGowan added: “I am delighted to join Newedge at this exciting phase of broadened market access and evolving derivatives brokerage in mainland China. The Chinese commodities futures market is currently the second-largest in the world, with a strong potential for continued growth. We are seeing increasing interest across other asset classes.”

In his role as Newedge’s chief representative in China, Owen acted as a senior adviser to Citic Newedge Futures, the derivatives brokerage Newedge operates with local firm Citic. The firm is an active member of China’s largest commodity exchanges, as well as the China Financial Futures Exchange.

Newedge is one of several European broker-dealers with an active presence on the Chinese mainland. The Royal Bank of Scotland also operates a joint venture with Chinese brokerage, Galaxy Futures. Newedge itself is a joint venture between French banks Société Générale and Credit Agricole.

Cunin told Financial News in August that Newedge was positioning itself for a rise in trading activity in Chinese commodity markets, ahead of the planned launch of new contracts such as crude oil futures, as local Chinese investors adapt their strategies amid regulatory changes.

According to senior futures market players, the China Securities Regulatory Commission is in discussions with exchanges and stakeholders to expand the number of financial futures permitted for trading in the country, currently restricted to one – index futures on the CSI 300 leading index of Chinese stocks.

Options on the index are slated for launch in the coming months, China market participants say. Futures on 10-Year Chinese government bonds have also been mooted.